Hi, Geroge....I have the MicroTech LTX-8 and also the hand-held
programmer
(which is can also be panel mounted). This allows programming the ECU
without the use of a laptop. I mounted mine on the instrument panel,
and it
has a brightly lit background that shows up very well, even in bright
sunlight. Let me preface all of this by stating that I am totally
unfamiliar with Tracy Crook's system, so I cannot compare the two. I can
only tell you about mine. I know that several people on this list are
using
Tracy's and they are better qualified to comment on his system.
Installation was easy. The unit comes pre-wired with locking plugs
on
the end that plugs into the "brain box", or the LTX-8. There is also a
male
barbed unit on the LTX-8 that you install, no make that push on....the
supplied rubber hose that connects to your manifold. That's it for that
end. The other end of the wires are all labeled, ie water temp sensor,
crank angle sensor, coils, fuel pump, etc. I am electrically challenged
(to
put it mildly), and found it to be straight forward. They also provide
detailed written instructions, and also a wiring schematic.
The hand held (or in my case, panel mounted) programmer seems to
have a
lot of nice features. It has a "basic" program so that you can start
your
engine as soon as it is hooked up. That actually worked. About two
revolutions of cranking and the engine fired right up. I have only two
injectors, and I mistakenly wired one up to the primary system, and the
other to the secondary system....it ran anyways. Problem was that one of
the
intakes dripped fuel after shutdown, so I switched wires.
Unfortunately, I am just getting to know the panel mounted
programmer,
so I can't give a very informative report on that yet. I can say,
however
that it will do a lot more than I will probably use, for instance, it
can be
set to limit boost, by limiting the amount of fuel delivery once you
reach
your preset boost limit, it varies the fuel mixture according to air and
water temperature, you can lean it during operation/flight, limit RPM at
wide open throttle, (WOT), set the timing advance curves, set up aux
maps,
it can turn on your cooling fan on your radiator (if you have one) at
any
temp you select, and many other features that I have not yet
familiarized
myself with yet. I just started reading the manual last night.
The dealer in the USA is www.microtechusa.com I hope some of my
rambling was of benefit? Take care, and good luck on your
selection/installation. Paul Conner, 13b powered SQ2000, engine
running
Paul Connor - Thanks Mate!
George (down under)